I had all the bases covered this week, so really quickly, here's the scoop:
MoviesKnocked Up
Like a good chunk of America, I went to see Judd Apatow's film about an accidental pregnancy and the zaniness that follows. I was actually surprised at how much I liked this movie given the relatively unknown (to me) cast and the subject matter. Some of the lamest movies in the world have been about having a baby. But I had faith in the writer/director of 40-Year Old Virgin and creator of a bunch of TV that critics loved but nobody saw and went anyway. I've got nothing else to say about it, but you should see it too.
I also recently rented Volver (excellent) and Tron. I've never seen Tron and I gotta say, I was hoping for a cheesefest. Unfortunately, the filmmakers knew enough of what they were doing, so instead of being corny, it was just boring. Don't get me wrong -- visually, the film is fascinating, but the story and characters are pretty weak. No offense to all those Tron fans out there...
TVSix Feet Under
With TV on summer hiatus, I finally got a chance to restart my obsession with Six Feet Under. I just finished up Season 3 (which means I still have two seasons to go) and was starting to get irritated with the turns the show was taking. A little too soap opera-ish some places (i.e., no one's relationship can be healthy or even just "good") to over-the-top others (Nate's storyline over the last few episodes). I'm hoping things will pick up in the 4th (I'm told they will) and that season 5 will be as good as I hear...
Rip It Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds
After taking a break from reading about music (last year I read three music-related books in a row), I decided to take on the mother of all band books, Rip It Up And Start Again. It earns that title for writing about roughly 7 billion different bands over the course of 6 years and the span of 400 pages. 7 billion is an estimate. It's the freakin' Ulysses of band books.
While I'm aware of several of the bands covered here, its the scope that's daunting. One chapter will cover the post-hippie, pre-punk rock of San Francisco, another chapter will cover 2 Tone bands like Madness, The Specials, The Beat and even Dexy's Midnight Runners. I've read about everyone from Throbbing Gristle to Devo. Interesting stuff to a guy like me (sometimes), but I'm definitely going to take another break from music reading after glazing over this opus...
Music
Eh, I talk about music here enough already. I am eager to check out new CDs from the White Stripes and Art Brut, both available June 19.
All for now...
5 comments:
Ronson, I need music recomendations. Put that enormous head of yours to work
Re: Six Feet Under, Season 4 is pretty good in my opinion but I thought the soap-opera drama in Season 5 was beyond over the top. A lot of fans disagree and think the show really rallied in the last year but I sure don't. HOWEVER, you have to stick with it just to see the last episode.
Oh no! That's disappointing about Six Feet Under. You were my source about season 4 being good, so I think we're in agreement about the series. I hope 5 doesn't turn out to be a big disappointment...
My big head thought up some music for ya, Anonymous (in a variety of categories):
Rock: Grinderman
Hip Hop: The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better (from way back in '89)
Japanese Hard Rock: Boris with Michio Kurihara
Indie pop: The Cleintele
Country innovator: Gram Parsons
Hope that helped!
SFU: Just wrapped up watching the series. I have to agree that it gets a little sticky into season four and then rushes a little bit to close up some story lines in season five, but overall does not disappoint.
The final episode, I have to say, is the best I have ever seen. And David Bianculli thinks it fits in the top three of all time. He thinks it's behind St. Elsewhere and Newhart's final episodes, which I had to Wikipediate - wow, a new verb - to learn about. SFU's was much better. Those other two were lame. Take that, Fresh Air TV critic.
I actually remember watching those episodes when I was a kid, (for Newhart and St. Elsewhere), so for them to stick in my head for so long, that's pretty impressive.
I'm interested in checking out the last ep of SFU (Season 5, Disc 1 is currently on hold at the library...), cuz off the top of my head, I can't really think of a show I really liked ever having a good finale.
OK, OK...the Gilmore Girls series finale was pretty good...that was a little embarrassing to admit. But it's true!
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